Eight candidates are aiming to replace longtime Mayor Jim Schmitt this spring in one of Green Bay's biggest elections in years. But notably absent from the race are women and minorities — a trend that's largely reflective of local government in Green Bay and Brown County.

Buy Photo

The eight candidates running for mayor of Green Bay spoke Jan. 9, 2019 at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay at the Brown County Central Library. Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin(Photo: Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Schmitt opted not to seek another term after 16 years in office. Vying for the position are former state Rep. Eric Genrich, Brown County supervisors Patrick Buckley and Patrick Evans, City Council President Mark Steuer, former Aldermen Guy Zima and Joe Moore, and residents Nick Mortensen and Paul Boucher.

Some are surprised by the glaring lack of diversity among the candidates. Celestine Jeffreys, Schmitt's chief of staff, said she thought there would be greater representation after the recent influx of women and people of color into Congress.

"Even though there’s these things going on around us, I’m not sure if that’s quite filtered here yet," said Jeffreys, who in 2006 was the first African-American woman elected to the City Council. She served two terms before becoming the first African-American woman elected to the Green Bay School Board in 2010.

Others are disappointed, including Schmitt. The mayor is the face of the community, he said, and he believes the city should want a leader who truly represents it.

"To have eight white guys again is not where I hoped we would be for a city that’s as progressive as we are," he said.

Diversity (or lack thereof) in government

Alison Staudinger, a political science and gender studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, isn't too shocked about the slate of contenders. Candidates for mayor often, though not exclusively, come from City Council or other governments, she said. And while the diversity of representation in those bodies has increased, local officials are still overwhelmingly white and male.

It's also more common for men with less experience to throw their hats into the ring, compared to women, Staudinger said. Indeed, research shows that men are more likely to consider running for office, and women tend to underestimate their qualifications even if they are equal to a man's.

"It’s disappointing, but not surprising," Staudinger said.

To her point: Nine of the 12 people serving on the Green Bay City Council are white men. On the Brown County Board, there are only four female supervisors out of 26, one of whom is Asian.

According to the local history and genealogy department at the Brown County Library, three women ran for mayor in the 23 elections dating back to 1949. None of those candidates were people of color.

And given the social climate at the time, it's unlikely any minorities ran for office before then.

Just because a candidate looks like you doesn't mean you'll agree with them, Staudinger noted. But when leadership is representative, she said, more citizens are heard — something she believes would be beneficial as Green Bay processes the shooting death of Jonathon Tubby by police.

“I can’t help but think this conversation would be different with different leadership," she said.

Jeffreys echoed the importance of diverse representation, saying a multitude of views are crucial to running a city. People with different life experiences bring their own perspectives to the table, whether they're retired, attend community college or have immigrants as parents, she said.

"Green Bay is not a little town anymore," she said. "It hasn’t been for quite some time."

A path forward

Bringing more women and minorities into government requires a pipeline, something Green Bay has started but needs to improve, Jeffreys said. To build that, officials in power must tap the shoulders of others with potential and ensure they're developing relationships within the community that are broad and deep.

“You don’t get to political office without people who are beside you," she said. "That’s what we need.”

Brown County Supervisor Alex Tran believes that support is crucial, saying women in particular have more to juggle if they're raising children. She also noted that people of color aren't getting the push to run for local office and therefore don't have many role models in office to look to for inspiration.

“At first, I wasn’t sure if it was something that I could do," she said. "There is not that encouragement for minorities to consider running for office."

Alex Tran(Photo: Courtesy of Alex Tran)

Tran wasn't sure how voters would react when she knocked on doors during her campaign, particularly after years of being bullied in school. Most people were nice, though, she said, and she believes voters in her Ashwaubenon district have come a long way.

Still, as the first person of Vietnamese descent on the County Board, Tran considers what she does carefully because people tend to judge minorities based on the actions of one, she said. And she doesn't want to hurt anyone else's chances of being elected.

"People do judge and remember what a person of color does," she said.

In the meantime, several sources said, the next mayor must ensure all perspectives are heard and strive to connect with elected officials and other leaders who aren't white men.

Staudinger noted that some communities have a dedicated person in city government who focuses on diversity. In Appleton, for example, the diversity and inclusion coordinator works to increase representation in city government and broaden cultural awareness throughout the city.

Community outreach is also crucial.

"Those communities aren’t going to come to you," Tran said. "You have to be the leader and reach out to them and show them that you care about their interests, that they do matter, that you want them to be a part of this."